Jin Shu blinked as Tian Li bolted from the room, her retreating form disappearing down the hallway.

    What…?

    He turned back to the others, expecting answers, but they all wore the same confused expressions—except for his mother.

    Sun Mei’er smirked knowingly as she nudged Chen Ai Yun.

    "Doesn''t that remind you of something? Someone?"

    Chen Ai Yun didn’t respond.

    Sun Mei’er nudged her again. "Hm?"

    A faint, almost imperceptible blush crept up Chen Ai Yun’s neck, turning her cheeks a soft pink.

    "I don''t know what you mean," she muttered.

    Sun Mei’er chuckled but let it slide. Instead, she turned to Jin Shu and waved him off.

    "Well, what are you waiting for? Go after her!"

    Jin Shu hesitated for half a second before nodding.

    As he stepped into the hallway, he frowned.

    What was that all about? Why did she run?

    He reached out to his other selves.

    You ask us, his main psyche responded dryly, but who are we supposed to ask?

    His older soul grunted in agreement.

    Mighty dragon, all-knowing robot, Jin Shu added with exaggerated humility. Would either of you care to enlighten this lowly junior?

    Hm? Jinshu’s voice stirred. What was the question?

    Why did Tian Li freak out and run away?

    She ran away? I wouldn’t know, Jinshu admitted. I shut my senses off when you were with your… female companions.

    I, too, deactivated external perception in accordance with privacy protocols, Nano chimed in.

    Jin Shu rolled his eyes.

    "Yeah, you two are real helpful."

    He focused back on reality as he reached an intersection in the hallway.

    "Ugh… why does Aunt Chen’s building have to be so uselessly large and complicated?"

    He glanced right—that path led outside.

    He looked left—who knew where that led?

    She didn''t seem to have a destination in mind when she ran, so—

    Go right, his older psyche suggested. She’s right-handed. Instinct would’ve led her that way.

    No, his main soul disagreed. She was embarrassed. She’d want to hide, so she’d have gone where no one would find her. Left.

    Jin Shu sighed, alternating glances between both directions.

    Then—

    She is in a room at the far end of the left hallway.

    A voice that didn’t belong to any of his usual companions whispered in his ear. A woman’s voice.

    His Aunt Chen’s.

    Jin Shu blinked and glanced over his shoulder.

    No one was there.

    A second later, realization struck.

    “Oh! Divine sense.”

    It had to be. An ability exclusive to those above the Spirit Realm.

    “Thanks, Aunt Chen,” he said, waving to empty air.

    No response.

    He shrugged and followed her instructions, heading down the left hallway until he reached a closed door.

    There, he hesitated.

    Knocking didn’t feel like the right move.

    So, without overthinking it—

    He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

    The door swung open silently.

    Stepping inside, Jin Shu''s eyes were immediately assaulted by color.

    It was as if an explosion of bright fabrics had detonated within the room—walls, floors, furniture, everything was covered in layers of cloth, each more vibrant than the last.

    He took a moment to process the bizarre sight before a voice caught his attention.

    “—love.”

    Tian Li.

    Jin Shu peeked around the doorframe.

    She sat on a small bed, her back to him, knees pulled up slightly as she stared at something in her lap.

    “What is love?” she murmured. “And why do I love women when most girls love men?”

    She paused before turning slightly, glancing at a plush swan nestled beside her.

    “What do you think, Mrs. Tian’e?”

    Another voice responded.

    It was still Tian Li—but slightly altered, gentler, with the warmth of an older woman.

    “Oh, deary… No one can say for sure what love is, or why we feel it. It’s one of the greatest secrets the heavens hide from us.”

    "Psh!"

    A third voice cut in, this one wilder, more haughty.

    "Love is nothing more than wanting to fu—!"

    Tian Li lunged forward and clamped a hand over the mouth of a stuffed tiger.

    "Hu''er! You can’t say stuff like that out loud!"

    The tips of her ears turned red.

    “…But I do want to do that with… her…” she admitted in a much quieter voice. “Only… she isn’t real… She’s just Jin Shu, yet she’s so pretty it hurts.”

    She clutched her chest.

    "Why does she have to be so pretty?"

    Her shoulders shook, and a soft, choked sob escaped her lips.

    Jin Shu stood frozen.

    She’s in love with me…?

    No—more specifically, she was in love with his female appearance.

    For a moment, Jin Shu didn’t know what to do with that information.

    Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward.

    “That’s not right, Hu’er,” he said. “That’s not love—that’s lust.”

    Tian Li whipped around, eyes wide in shock.

    “J-Jin Shu?! Why are you here?” Sear?h the N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her entire face flushed crimson.

    “Looking for you, of course.”

    Jin Shu took another glance around the room before raising an eyebrow.

    “I’ve been wondering something since I walked in—why is everything covered in fabric?”

    Tian Li blinked, momentarily thrown by the shift in topic.

    “Um… well… I actually don’t remember. I did that when I was a child. Maybe I was just bored?”

    Jin Shu hummed, then turned his gaze to the stuffed animals on the bed.

    “And what about Mrs. Tian’e and Hu’er? Are you going to introduce them to me?” He tilted his head. “Or your other friends?”

    Tian Li’s blush deepened as she stiffened.

    “Uh… I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stammered, avoiding eye contact.

    Jin Shu let out a small chuckle.

    “I’m talking about your adorable friends.”

    He gestured toward the collection of stuffed animals with a calm smile.

    Tian Li fidgeted under his gaze, stubbornly holding out for a few seconds—before finally cracking.

    “T-They…” She faltered, then let out a breath. “I’m not crazy, okay?”

    Jin Shu raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

    “I never said you were.”

    She gave him a wary side glance before muttering,

    “They’re just the stuffed animals I made when I was younger. I… I didn’t have many close friends, so I made some for myself.”

    Jin Shu’s expression softened.

    “I understand that.”

    Tian Li glanced at him in surprise.

    “I didn’t have many friends growing up either,” he admitted. “Actually… in this life, I didn’t have any.”

    She turned fully to face him.

    “You… you really have lived through multiple lives?”

    “Yes,” Jin Shu nodded. “And it’s… bizarre, to say the least.”

    Tian Li hesitated, then lowered her gaze.

    “In the place of your… second life… were there women who loved other women?”

    Jin Shu blinked.

    “That… uh…” He sifted briefly through his memories before nodding. “Yes. And actually, it was fairly widely accepted.”

    Tian Li chewed her lip, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.

    “What about women who fell in love with a man dressed as a woman?”

    To his own surprise, Jin Shu didn’t have to search very hard for an answer.

    “You know… there actually was,” he said, sounding slightly amused by the realization himself.

    “Really?!”

    Tian Li shot up from her bed, eyes gleaming with excitement.

    “Then… it’s normal to like you while you look like this?”

    Jin Shu froze, unsure how to answer.

    “Uh… yes…? I mean… I think?” He winced. “I don’t know if it’s normal, but it’s not a bad thing… probably?”

    Tian Li frowned. “What am I supposed to do?”

    Jin Shu flailed his arms helplessly, settling with a shrug.

    “I—I have no clue. I think that’s something you have to decide.”

    “Hmm…”

    She began to pace across the fabric-covered floor, her muffled footsteps rustling like soft cloth.

    Jin Shu decided to give her time to think and let his attention drift back to the bed—to her stuffed animals.

    There was the tiger, Hu’er. The swan, Tian’e. And two others—a phoenix and… a toad?

    Curious, he stepped closer. Yes, that was definitely a toad.

    Then, just at the farthest edge of the bed, he noticed another stuffed figure. It was face-down, its small limbs sprawled out. Unlike the others, it had a humanoid shape—with delicate wings on its back.

    Jin Shu reached out and picked it up.

    The moment he turned it over, he blinked.

    It was Yin’er.

    A perfect, miniature Yin’er in her human form.

    Down to the tiniest details, it was almost an exact replica—except for the size.

    Jin Shu stared at it, caught between admiration and mild unease. It was adorable, yes, but also… oddly surreal. Holding a tiny, stuffed version of his daughter felt a little strange.

    He turned to Tian Li to ask about it—

    Only to find her staring at the doll in horror.

    “I-it’s not what you think!” she sputtered.

    In the next instant, she lunged forward, snatching it from his hands.

    Jin Shu raised an eyebrow.

    “…I didn’t think anything,” he said slowly. “It’s a very cute Yin’er doll.”

    Tian Li clutched it to her chest, visibly mortified.

    “…Only,” he continued, tilting his head, “why did you make a doll of Yin’er?”

    “Because I love her!” Tian Li blurted it out—then immediately froze, as if realizing what she’d just said.

    “…N-not in a weird way!” she backtracked, gripping the Yin’er doll tighter. “I mean, like when you love cute things. You know?”

    Jin Shu raised an eyebrow but nodded.

    “I get it. She is adorable.” He paused, then added, “But… you’re not going to get her to like you if you keep acting the way you do.”

    Tian Li gasped in horror.

    “What?! Why?!”

    She lunged forward, grabbing his hands, her eyes red, wide and glistening as if she might cry at any moment.

    “Because you’re too enthusiastic.”

    “I’m too enthusiastic? What about Li Xue?”

    Jin Shu blinked. “What about Li Xue?”

    “Well, isn’t she just as—if not more—enthusiastic than me? And yet Yin’er likes her more than me!”

    Tears threatened to spill from Tian Li’s eyes, her grip tightening.

    Jin Shu sighed. “Okay, two things. One, Li Xue is enthusiastic in a different way than you. Two, Yin’er and Li Xue get along like cats and dogs. They don’t hate each other, but they definitely don’t like each other either.”

    “That isn’t right, is it?” Tian Li frowned. “Earlier, Yin’er said she didn’t know Li Xue well, but that she’d let her be her mommy if she gave her a little sister.”

    Jin Shu froze.

    He blinked at her.

    Then shook his head.

    “…Hold on. What?”

    Tian Li quickly explained what had happened while he was with Aunt Chen.

    Jin Shu exhaled sharply.

    “That isn’t right…” He frowned, processing it.

    “Why not?”

    He crossed his arms. “Yin’er knows what a wife and marriage is. It was one of the first things my mother taught her.”

    Tian Li’s eyes widened. “She does?”

    He nodded.

    “Hmm… Did my mother say anything to her before that?”

    “Um…” Tian Li thought back. “She did whisper something in her ear…”

    Jin Shu sighed.

    “There it is,” he muttered. “Another one of my mother’s pranks.”

    “Really?”

    Tian Li’s voice wavered slightly, as if she wanted to believe him but wasn’t sure she could.

    Jin Shu nodded.

    “Yeah. From what you said, it was probably just a prank on Biyu, and you got caught in the crossfire.”

    He glanced down—her hands were still clutching his.

    “But for now, let’s head back,” he said, giving her fingers a gentle tug. “I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we are.”

    “But what about—”

    “Let’s worry about the complicated stuff later,” he cut in smoothly. “Right now, let’s just go have some fun.”

    She hesitated, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.

    Then, after a moment, she exhaled and nodded, letting him pull her along.

    Back to the others.